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"When you have had years of a pay cap but rising inflation and the cost of living rising it's no wonder there 's a recruitment crisis."

The RCN, along with other unions, has been campaigning for an end to the Government's pay cap on public sector wages - an effective freeze imposed in 2011 which has meant wages can only rise by 1% a year.

When this is set against a backdrop of a higher rate of inflation - the rise in the price of goods like food and clothing - it means that in reality pay is being cut as wages buy less every year.

When a nurse joins the profession it is with a three or four year degree under their belt and at a Band 5 pay rating with a salary of just under £22,000.

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The impact of Brexit meant that many talented nurses from the EU were returning home as they felt their future was uncertain - plus many nurses who might have come to the UK from countries like Ireland or Spain, were choosing other paths.

The challenges could not be underestimated, said Sarah, who called on the Government to do "some joined up thinking."

The RCN is campaigning for the pay cap to be abolished and for the reinstatement of bursaries for training.

Nursing is a hugely rewarding profession with the chance to really make a difference to patients and their families at crucial points in the lives, said Sarah.

But action must be taken to avoid the cliff edge, she added.

"We are at crisis point now," she said.

"Without action it is going to get worse and worse I'm afraid and we will see patient care beginning to suffer."